And so it begins.
Formula 1 teams are set to find out what could be in store for them during the 2023 season as pre-season testing gets underway in Bahrain.
There are three days of running across Thursday 23rd to Saturday 25th February, with cars on-track for eight-and-a-half hours each day - not withstanding any crashes or red flags that will pop up.
Such limited testing means that drivers are only set for 1.5 days in the car each before the first race - at the Sakhir circuit a week later on March 5th. It is something both George Russell and Fernando Alonso are not impressed with.
19 of the regular race drivers are set to pound around the 3.3-mile circuit, including rookies Oscar Piastri, Logan Sargeant and Nyck de Vries.
The only driver who will not be in action is Lance Stroll at Aston Martin, who was injured in a cycling accident and will not be fit in time. He is replaced by reserve driver and reigning Formula 2 champion Felipe Drugovich, who will share duties alongside Alonso.
The table below shows which drivers are in the car for each team during each of the sessions.
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2023 F1 pre-season testing driver line-ups
| Team | Thursday 23rd (AM/PM) | Friday 24th (AM/PM) | Saturday 25th (AM/PM) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Bull | Verstappen | Perez-Verstappen | Perez |
| Ferrari | Sainz-Leclerc | Sainz-Leclerc | Leclerc-Sainz |
| Mercedes | Russell-Hamilton | Hamilton-Russell | Russell-Hamilton |
| Alpine | Gasly-Ocon | Ocon-Gasly | Gasly-Ocon |
| McLaren | Piastri-Norris | Norris-Piastri | Piastri-Norris |
| Alfa Romeo | Zhou-Bottas | Zhou | Bottas |
| Aston Martin | Drugovich-Alonso | Alonso | Drugovich-Alonso |
| Haas | Hulkenberg-Magnussen | Magnussen-Hulkenberg | Hulkenberg-Magnussen |
| AlphaTauri | Tsunoda-De Vries | Tsunoda-De Vries | De Vries-Tsunoda |
| Williams | Albon-Sargeant | Sargeant | Albon |
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